Dispensing package



Oct. 31, 1939. J F, CADDEN L 2,177,863

DISPENSING PACKAGE Filed June 18, 1958 3 1 WWW 1 rial/2 j aadaiz M00122 22 06100012 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,177,863 DISPENSING PACKAGE John F.,Cadden and Edmond '1. Roetman, Gharleston, W. Va.

Application June 18, 1938, Serial No. 214,553

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to packages for small objects such as pills or similar small and regularly shaped articles and more particularly to a dispensing package that is capable of delivering a predetermined definite quantity of such articles at a single operation.

Devices of this general type have been proposed and used heretofore, but such devices have been subject to certain disadvantages and unsatisfactory operation, due in general to either bridging of the articles at the mouth of delivery ports, or to such construction as to render it necessary for the articles to enter narrow delivery passages without any satisfactory means of positioning the articles to guide them to such passages. Certain types of prior devices have been so arranged as tocontain a considerable amount of unused space in order that the dispensing function may be accomplished, this resulting in a package of undue size and also involving the use of extra material in manufacture.

One object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing package of novel form that is arranged to deliver a predetermined number of articles at a single operation.

Another object is the provision of such a novel device in which the articles are guided naturally to the mouth of a delivery chamber.

Still another object is to provide a novel arrangement of a delivery chamber wherein the entry of the articles will be accomplished in a practical manner and the tendency of the articles to form bridges across the mouth of the delivery chamber will be to a large extent counteracted by the formation of the mouth of the delivery chamher.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of moving parts at the mouth of the delivery chamber, whereby operation of the dispensing device will break up any bridges that the articles may form at the mouth of the delivery chamber.

A still further object is to provide a novel package of the class described that is subject to ordinary manufacturing methods and which is compact with relation to the amount of its contents, whereby an inexpensive product is obtained.

In general, these objects are attained by means of a circular receptacle body provided with a special form of delivery chamber at one side of 50 the receptacle and communicating with the interior thereof by way of a port, and having a cover rotatably mounted upon the body and provided with an extension removably covering the delivery chamber and having a barrier member that moves with the cover from a position blocking the port when the cover is'open to a withdrawn position when the cover is closed. The relation of the barrier and the cover is such that when the cover is open to a point sufficient to permit an article to pass out of the delivery chamber, the barrier will be sufficiently across the port to prevent passage of one of the articles to the delivery chamber. The delivery chamber is of such size that only the desired number of articles can be completely enclosed therein at one time, and the number of articles delivered at each operation is thereby definitely controlled.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure l'is an elevation of one embodiment of the package;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof. Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views of the top and bottom respectively. Figures 5 and 6 are sectional views illustrating the positions of the internal parts when the cover is in open and closed positions respectively. p Figure '7 is a plan view illustrating the relation of the closure for the delivery chamber and the barrier member for the'port.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the bottom portion of a receptacle illustrating a manner in which a bridge of the articles may be formed. Figure 9 is a plan view of a cover member having means for breaking up a bridge such as is illustrated in Figure 8. e I Figure 10 is a plan view illustrating a package having a modified form of delivery chamber. Describing the drawing more particularly, and referring first to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 9, the package comprises a receptacle body It! that is generally circular in plan and is formed by a bottom wall II and a side wall [2. r The body in is provided with a generally circular cover l3'rotatably secured to the side wall 12, as by a channel and bead structure M. The cover 13 may have a depending skirt I5 that slides over the outer surface of the wall l2. 7 a

At a point at one side-of the receptacle body I0 is a V-shaped delivery chamber [6 that is enclosed between a side wall l1, extending angularly outward from the wall [2, and a side wall I8 that is tangential to the wall l2 and converges with the wall H. Preferably the juncture of the side walls I! and l 8 is rounded. The delivery chamber I6 is provided with a bottom wall l9 that is formed as a continuous extension of the bottom wall II of the body, and corresponds in shape to the plan of the chamber I6.

The delivery chamber is of such size. as to be able to receive completely within it only the number of articles to be delivered at a single operation. In the drawing the chambers are illustrated as being for the reception and delivery of a single article, shown as pills. Preferably the delivery chamber is made slightly oversize so as to enable one or more articles in addition to the one or ones contained completely within it to extend partially into its interior, for a purpose to be later set forth.

It will be noted by reference to Figure 5 that the mouth 29 of the delivery chamber is considerably wider than the diameter of the objects that are to pass through it into the chamber during the dispensing operation. This is to provide a passage into and through which the articles may pass freely, and to minimize the tendency of such objects to form bridges about the mouth upon the interior of the receptacle body Ill. The wide mouth 20 is of particular advantage when the package is used for flat round pills of relatively large diameter and small thickness.

The cover l3 carries an extension 2! that corresponds in size and shape to the plan of the delivery chamber IB, and that moves as the cover i3 is rotated upon the side wall I2 from an open position, shown in Figure 2, to a closed position overlying the delivery chamber [6 and in engagement with the tops of the walls H and I8.

The side Wall ll of the delivery chamber, at a point just outside of the wall I2 has a slot 22 for the passage of a barrier member 23 that depends from the under side of the cover I3, and that slides over the outer surface of the wall 12 as the cover i3 is rotated, and passes into or out of the mouth 20 of the delivery chamber according to the direction of rotation of the cover. The barrier 23 is so positioned with relation to the cover extension 2i that when the latter has been moved from a closed position sufficiently to permit removal of an article contained therein, the barrier member 23 will have been moved into the mouth 29 sufficiently to prevent passage of one of the articles into the delivery chamber. Thus, referring to Figure '7, it will be seen that the cover is open to an extent just sufiicient to permit the pill 24 to be removed from the chamber l6, and that the barrier member 23 has been moved to a position sufiiciently across the mouth 20 to prevent pill 25 from passing to the delivery chamber. Movement of the cover extension 2| in a clockwise direction will further open the chamber l6 and move the barrier farther into and across the mouth 20, as shown in Figure 6, while movement of the cover extension in a counterclockwise direction will close the chamber l6 and move the barrier to a point that will permit the articles to pass from the body H] to the chamber I6.

As above noted, the chamber I6 is sufiiciently large to permit articles other than the one or ones completely enclosed therein to extend partially within it. Referring to Figure 5, it will be seen that the pill 26 is completely within the chamber 16 and that pill 21 rests upon it and occupies a position extending partially through the mouth 20 and into the chamber, while the third pill 28 is in contact with the pill 21. As the barrier member 23 is moved across the mouth 20 in opening the delivery chamber IE, it will come into contact with the pill 21, such condition being shown in Figure 7, and further movement of the cover i 3 and the barrier 23 will move the pill 21 toward the interior of the receptacle body ID, producing a stirring action among any pills that may be grouped about the mouth 20.

In Figure 8 a bridge of pills 29 arranged in such a fashion as to be out of the path of the barrier 23 is shown. In order to break up a bridge of this kin-d, the cover I3 may be provided with an extension, shown in Figure 9 as an inwardly extending pin 30, but which may be a lug struck from the material of the top and properly located to pass through the area in which a bridge of the type shown in Figure 8 occurs, as the cover is moved, whereby the bridge is broken.

A modified form of delivery chamber is illustrated in Figure 10. This chamber, designated 3|, is enclosed between a side wall 32 that is tangential to the wall of the body, and a side wall 33 that is parallel to the wall 32. The walls 32 and 33 are connected at their remote ends by a curved wall 34 that forms an end of the chamber, the walls being so proportioned that the chamber is of proper size to receive the desired number of articles. The delivery chamber 3! does not have a widened mouth as does the chamber of the previously described embodiment, and it is particularly adapted for use with articles of spherical shape, although it is by no means limited to such use. The cover of the delivery chamber is provided with a barrier member 35 that moves therewith and performs the same functions as does the barrier member 23 of the first described embodiment.

Various minor refinements may be added to either of the illustrated packages. For example, ribs 36 may be applied to the cover, as shown in Figures 2, 3 and 7 to afford a gripping surface. Stops 37 may be added to prevent opening the receptacle to an extent that would damage it, such stops being illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and '7. It will be understood that the closing motion is limited by the engagement of the end of the flange i5 upon the tangential wall.

The operation of the devices described above is very simple. The package is tilted in such a manner that the delivery chamber is at the lowermost point, such tilting being carried to a degree that will cause the articles contained in the receptacle to slide downward, and causing the desired number of the articles to enter the delivery chamber. It will be noted that the wall of the delivery chamber that is tangential to the body of the receptacle forms a straight guide from a point well within the body of the receptacle to a point adjacent the remote end of the delivery chamber. When the package is arranged with the tangential wall in a vertical position, and the barrier member is out of the mouth 2c], the articles will tend to travel directly downward into the delivery chamber, and if the receptacle is arranged with the tangential wall slanting downward toward the chamber, the articles will roll or slide along its surface until the desired number fills the chamber against the entry of more.

It will be readily apparent that the accuracy of the number of articles dispensed at a single operation is controlled by the sizing of the chamber, together with the relation of the barrier member and cover extension so that the delivery chamber will be closed off from the body of the receptacle when. the chamber is open, and the chamber will be open to the interior of the receptacle when closed to the exterior. It will also be appreciated that the use of the barrier member as a means for stirring the articles cooperates with the tangential wall in assuring that the articles will move into the delivery chamber, and that bridging of the articles whereby the operation of dispensing would be interferred with is avoided. When the package is sold, the

delivery chamber may contain a charge of the articles since the presence of the articles within the chamber does not interfere with the operation of the parts.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the device will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be readily appreciated that changes in the size, shape, proportions and mincr details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What we claim is:

1. A dispensing package for small articles comprising a receptacle for the articles to be dispensed, said receptacle having a lateral extension projecting beyond the walls thereof to form a delivery chamber located beyond the interior of the receptacle of propersize to receive and contain only the desired number of articles to be delivered at a single operation, the delivery chamber being in communication with the interior of the receptacle by Way of a port and having an opening to the exterior, a movable closure member for the exterior opening of the delivery chamber, and a barrier member for the port associated with the closure and arranged to bar passage of a pill through the port when the closure is sufficiently open to permit delivery of an article therein to the exterior by Way of the opening.

2. A dispensing package for small articles comprising a substantially round receptacle including an open-topped body having a bottom and side walls, and a walled extension extending forming an open-topped delivery chamber communicating with the interior of the body by Way of a port, a cover rotatably mounted upon the body to close the same, the said cover having an extension adapted to slide over the delivery chamber to close the same, and the said cover having a depending barrier member parallel to the side wall of the receptacle adjacent the port and adapted to move into the port as the cover is rotated to uncover the delivery chamber, the barrier member and the cover extension being so related that the former blocks the port against the passage of articles from the receptacle when the cover extension is sufficiently removed to permit delivery of an article from the top thereof.

3. A dispensing package in accordance with claim 1 wherein the side Walls enclosing the delivery chamber converge outwardly, whereby the delivery chamber is V-shaped and its mouth being materially wider than the articles to be dispensed.

4. A dispensing package in accordance with claim 1 wherein the delivery chamber is slightly oversize with relation to the articles to be dispensed, and the path of the barrier member is such as to pass through the space occupied by articles that are only partly within the delivery chamber.

5. A dispensing package in accordance with claim 1 wherein one of the side walls of the delivery chamber is tangential to the round side Wall of the receptacle body.

6. A dispensing package according to claim 2 wherein one of the walls of the delivery chamber is tangential to the wall of the receptacle body and wherein the side walls of the delivery chamber converge outwardly.

'7. A dispensing package in accordance with claim 2, wherein the cover is provided with a flange slidably engaging the side wall of the body member and is slidable across the port to act as the barrier member, said flange having a cutaway portion for registration with the port when the extension of the cover is in closing position with relation to the delivery chamber.

8. A dispensing package in accordance with claim 2, wherein one side wall of the delivery chamber is tangential to the wall of the receptacle body, the cover is provided with a flange partly surrounding and slidably engaged upon the outer surface of the side wall of the body and having a cut-away portion for registration with the port, the wall of the delivery chamber opposite to the tangential Wall being provided with a slot adjacent the outer surface of the wall of the body to permit the flange to move across the port, whereby as the flange is moved into closing relation in the port its end will move with relation to the tangential Wall in a direction toward the interior of the receptacle.

JOHN F. CADDEN. EDMOND T. ROETMAN. 

